Olympia football's Tyler Cross commits to Wofford College

Olympia High football’s two-way star Tyler Cross — a tight end on offense and defensive lineman on the other side of the ball — has announced via his social media accounts that he has committed to play his college football at Wofford College in South Carolina. 

"When I stepped foot on campus at Wofford, I just felt at home. A lot of that had to do with the people, that was a big part of the decision. The people, my teammates, and the coaches; everybody there has a good relationship with each other ... it felt like everybody's all in on the team. So, that really kind of stood out to me," Cross said.

Beyond the people, Wofford checked all the boxes for Cross. 

"Everything from the facilities to the housing, the food, all of the essentials were perfect. It was everything that I could have asked for all in one. So I was just like, I'm going to lock this in because this is where I feel the best at," he said. 

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The future Terrier football player had a litany of offers to choose from, selecting to play at Wofford, an FCS school that plays in the Southern Conference, over the likes of hometown UCF, Temple, Liberty, Uconn and many others.

"One of the other reasons why I picked Wofford over the other offers I had was because of the academics, and the alumni that stick around and help the kids," Cross said. "It really feels like one thing that they're big on is helping students graduate and helping us find good jobs after our time at the school is over. That's kind of one of the main reasons why I picked Wofford."

The 6-foot-4 Cross served predominantly as a blocker on offense, helping establish the Titans’ elite run game that rushed for 2,131 yards on 249 carries — 8.6 yards a carry — with 29 rushing touchdowns and powered Olympia to an 8-3 record and a Class 4M, District 5 championship. 

Though his role was primarily a blocker, Cross still was a factor in the passing game, catching five passes for 73 yards with two touchdowns. As a defensive lineman, Cross racked up 29 total tackles, nine tackles for a loss and three sacks for the Titans’ defense. 

At Wofford, Cross expects to be playing predominately on offense as a traditional tight end.

"The coaches expect me to be a true, inline tight end. I will be flexed out at times, but I'll really be on the line a lot blocking and will do most of my route running in the pass game from the line," Cross said. 

Sam Albuquerque is the Sports Editor for the Orange Observer. Please contact him with story ideas, results and statistics.

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